Governor Cuomo
It has been two months since Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico. While our fellow citizens have been struggling to recover and meet their daily needs, Puerto Rico still lacks adequate federal resources to accomplish their recovery and rebuilding.
Yet, while Congress considers a supplemental appropriation, they are also debating expanding the powers of the financial oversight board created by the PROMESA Act. Congress should keep its eye on the ball and not get distracted.
Expanding the authority of the Board would not only lead to government dysfunction, it would slow the recovery effort and it would take away the voice of the people of Puerto Rico and give it to an unelected body.
Puerto Rico has an elected governor. He must lead the recovery as the elected representative of the voters of Puerto Rico. If provided with the needed federal resources – at a level consistent with what states typically receive after a hurricane of this magnitude – Governor Rosselló will be able to build back and build back better.
As the Governor of New York, a state with the largest Puerto Rican population on the mainland, I call on Congress to turn down attempts to create a parallel government, and to defend American democracy by rejecting additional governing powers for the financial oversight board.
